The broken trees left behind by Cyclone Sidr in the Sundarbans must not be removed, as those create the bio-mass necessary for speedy regeneration of the world's largest mangrove forest, said Dr Ali Reza Khan, an eminent forest and wildlife expert.

Thirty-seven large vessels and barges loaded with fertiliser, fuel and rice have remained stuck at different points in the Jamuna for the last three days because of poor navigability, hampering supply of the essentials to different destinations though the Baghabari port.

Softening its Thursday's position of having the next parliamentary election by June-July, Awami League (AL) yesterday put out a call to the caretaker government for holding the polls earlier than the time stipulated in the announced electoral roadmap 'if possible'.

Two sub-inspectors from Gulshan and Dhanmondi police stations yesterday interrogated detained Tarique Rahman, elder son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, for over 3 hours at Dhaka Central Jail in connection with two separate extortion cases.

New Hampshire is where Iowa's Democratic caucus victors get ratified and where its Republican winners get stung. Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mike Huckabee headed into the Granite State on Friday as Iowa's presidential champions, one hoping to ride history's trend and the other eager to break it. Neither can expect it to be easy.

Iraqi authorities ordered a one-day vehicle ban in Baqouba on Friday in response to a series of deadly suicide bombings and other attacks by al-Qaeda in Iraq against predominantly Sunni fighters that have allied with the United States.

Editorial

It is welcome news that investment in the existing Export Processing Zones (EPZs) in the country has increased 135 per cent in the first six months of the 2007-2008 fiscal, compared to the performance in the previous fiscal. We are further delighted to learn that the volume of export of processed goods has also increased by 6 per cent in the same period. EPZ chairman Brigadier General Ashraf Abdullah Yusuf revealed the statistics in a press conference on Thursday when he also explained the future plan of his organisation. While we would want the export volume to go up at a faster pace, we consider the present accomplishment worthy of a mention.

The idea of making the police force more sensitive to the needs of female victims of crime is not only timely it comes at a time when there is an increase in the level of violence against women in Bangladesh. This is a part of the overall police reform package under the auspices of the UNDP, which one hopes will bring in a qualitative change in the mindset of the police while dealing with women's complaints.

Benazir Bhutto's assassination has left Pakistan shocked and unsure about its democratic future. The elections, scheduled for 8 January 2008, seen by both Pakistani and Western analysts as a way of bringing political stability and restoring the democratic process within the country, now appears to be at risk. The Pakistan Election Commission feels that the prevailing insecurity has reduced the possibility of holding a free and fair election. They consider that a free, fair and credible election would be impossible before next month. They have also indicated that a fresh date would be arrived at after consultation with all the political parties. The Election Commission has probably been encouraged in this regard by a comment from the US State Department spokesman Tom Casey who said that Washington wants elections to go ahead as planned if they can be held in a 'safe and secure' way.

Rise against corruption”, as anti-graft slogan will continue as a campaign throughout this year round the world. The government is pledged bound to stage a drive against corruption as a signatory to the U N Convention against Corruption.

Land dispute is an old conflict of Bangladesh society linked to the socio-economic-political system. Every year considerable number of people are directly or indirectly affected by land dispute. Specially the landless and poor fisherman communities living in different char and khaslands of the country are falling victim to this dispute and losing both financially and socially. At places eviction of the socially weak landless people has also occurred. Land dispute even led to killing of opponent, grievously hurting, looting of homestead and arson. Increase in land disputes has a very negative impact on society and economy.

Sports

The occasion of the 50th match failed to inject any spark into the under-performing Bangladesh batting as the Tigers let New Zealand gain upper hand on Day One of the first Test at the University Oval which made its debut as the world's 96th Test venue.

Naeem Islam salvaged title contender Rajshahi's sinking ship against Dhaka on the first day of their all-important tenth and last round National Cricket League match at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.

Makeshift West Indies opening batsman Denesh Ramdin survived some hostile bowling as he and Daren Ganga reduced South Africa's first innings advantage on the third day of the second Test at Newlands on Friday.

Bangladeshi FIDE Master Abu Sufian Shakil is in joint second position with another nine players in the Hastings 83rd Chess Congress securing five points after the 7th round matches at Hastings in England on Thursday.

Fakirerpool Youngmen's Club came from behind to play out a 1-1 draw with Agrani Bank in the Metropolis Senior Division Football League at the Birshreshtha Shaheed Sepoy Mohammad Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur yesterday.

Sachin Tendulkar admitted that he hadn't looked at the scoreboard when he was in the nineties, not wanting to think of missing out on a hundred yet again. Tendulkar endured seven scores in the nineties in the last year and said he would savour this hundred as a special one.

A banner at the ground summed up Australia's affection for Sachin Tendulkar. "Commit all your crimes when Sachin is batting," it read. "They will go unnoticed because even the Lord is watching." Great players have a feel for the big stage and Tendulkar couldn't have chosen a better moment to turn in such a regal performance. Efficient and authoritative, this was a flawless innings.

At one end Mitchell Johnson was struggling with his line while at the other Brett Lee's was almost perfect. Since accepting Glenn McGrath's responsibilities, Lee has not only bowled as tightly as his predecessor, but has been able to maintain the pace that ensures his penetration remains undiluted. Over the past four Tests he has been a damaging performer and an intelligent role model.

Richie Benaud became the first of ten Australian sporting greats to have sculptures of themselves unveiled at the SCG. Benaud was at the informal but intimate gathering behind the Ladies Stand and the audience included the Invincibles Arthur Morris and Neil Harvey and the former Australia captains Steve Waugh and Ian Craig.

The oil producing cartel Opec will face enormous pressure to help calm the febrile crude market at its next meeting in February after prices struck the symbolic 100-dollar level, analysts said Thursday.

The Shanghai city government here is considering barring non-residents from buying property as investments in the hope of curbing price rises and making homes more affordable to local low- and middle-income families.

India's Tata Motors, named preferred bidder to buy Ford's Jaguar and Land Rover units, could make a huge technological leap and save years of development by acquiring the car icons, analysts said Friday.

South Korea's big companies will be allowed to further invest in the banking industry, as the incoming administration of President-elect Lee Myung-bak will ease relevant regulations, Lee's transition committee said Thursday.

Metropolitan

Diplomatic campaign backed by pragmatic foreign policy appeared to have brightened Bangladesh's image abroad in the past one year when the country earned extra attention from global community and economic fora.

Expressing deep concern over the price hike of essentials including rice, flour and oil, Jatiya Party (JP) Secretary General Sheikh Shahidul Islam in a statement yesterday said lower income people are facing a severe economic crisis due to increased price.

Despite 'good understanding and assurance' during several talks between the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) and Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), a staggering number of 30 Bangladeshi cattle traders were shot dead by Indian Border Security Force (BSF) in different border areas in the district in 2007.

Maj. Gen. Syed Fatemi Ahmed Rumee, GOC and Rangpur area commander of Bangladesh Army, has requested officials to hang details of development project at offices so that journalists and people can easily know about those.

International

Kenya's opposition party called for a new presidential election to settle a dispute over the vote that has sparked days of deadly riots, and police hurled tear gas to scatter more than 1,000 protesters in the coastal city of Mombasa yesterday.

North Korea said Friday the country still hopes for a smooth implementation of an aid-for-disarmament deal with the United States and other countries, after failing to meet a year-end deadline to declare its nuclear programmes.

Human Rights Watch called Thursday for a UN human rights monitoring mission in Sri Lanka in the wake of the breakdown of the 2002 ceasefire agreement between the government and the Tamil Tiger secessionists.

China has announced new rules to control the explosion of audio-visual content on the Internet, in a move seen as an effort to transfer the government's television and radio censorship model to the Web.

Astronomers poring over a young star 180 light years from Earth have found evidence that stellar birth can lead to the formation of a planet only millions of years later, a mere blink on the cosmic timescale.

The Simon Wiesenthal Centre on Thursday said that in the wake of last week's murder of former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto it was calling on the United Nations to designate suicide bombings as a crime against humanity.

Arts & Entertainment

If one asked for Dali-like surrealism or wanted lyrical decorations from nature, or even cared for anthropological essences, one had only to see the recent group show at the Bengal Gallery. The artists were young, enterprising and experimental. They kept strong hold over their Bangladeshi roots and the teaching of the local master painters.

On January 3, it was a great gig for rock n' roll enthusiasts as Advanced Development Technologies Ltd. (ADTL) and amadergaan.com, the largest music based web portal of Bangladesh, jointly raised their hands for the Sidr affected people. This was to arrange an unplugged charity concert titled Bangladesh 08-Sidr 07 at Winter Garden, Sheraton Hotel. Most of the famed and upcoming local bands, including Souls, L.R.B, Maqsood O' Dhaka, Dolchhut, Aurthohin, Artcell, Ornob, Arbovirus, Lalon, Metal Maze, Shironamhin and Yaatri performed at the charity concert.

Renowned actor-director Shahiduzzaman Selim has recently made four digital films -- Mixed Culture, Ekjon Ajmal Hossain, Abinashi Shabdorashi and Chicago Hridoy -- all shot in the US. Of the films, Mixed Culture and Ekjon Ajmal Hossain were aired on Channel i and ATN Bangla respectively, as part of the Eid-special programmes recently. Chicago Hridoy will be aired on Channel-I soon.

Tonight at 8:25 pm, new drama serial Pingol Akash will be aired on Banglavision. It is an adaptation of litterateur Shawkat Ali's novel of the same name. Scripted by Sheikh Shahadat Hossain, it is directed by Abul Hayat.

This month's Golden Globe Awards are in jeopardy after striking writers insisted they would continue with plans to picket the Hollywood ceremony. Organisers hoped last-minute talks with the Writers Guild of America would allow the show to go on, but the union said it would still picket the show. The Screen Actors Guild also said it would advise stars to boycott the show until the strike dispute is resolved. The Golden Globes ceremony is scheduled to take place 13 January. Writers have been striking since 5 November in a row over royalties for work distributed online or released on DVD.

OP-ED

For most of the urbanites, rural Bangladesh is that huge, heterogeneous part of the country that catches our attention only with the news of floods, droughts, cyclones and storms. It amazes us how much we know about villages where more than 100 million Bangladeshis live. The reasons for ignorance are obvious : more than 60 per cent of our villages are not connected by road and power supply to a vast number of villages is still a dream and telecom facilities are still non-existent in many.

The current mayhem in Kenya is not only tribal but rooted in something equally insidious: greed. The country's largest ethnic group, the Kikuyu (23% of the population), have ruled the country since independence in 1963, when Jomo Kenyatta became president. The Mau Mau revolt, which brought about the end of white rule, was Kikuyu instigated, leading many Kikuyus to conclude that they would dominate the country's politics forever. Before the country's recent election and, indeed, when the returns were beginning to be counted, all indications were that President Mwai Kibaki (seeking a second term) would be defeated by Raila Odinga, a Luo, and that the political arena would no longer be under Kikuyu control.

Ruhul Amin, the young and bright Bangladesh Ambassador to France, is no more (Innalillahe wa inna Ilaihe rajeun/peace be upon him!) He died, while in the service of his country, of a massive stroke in a Paris hospital. Amin joined the embassy in Paris in July, 2007 relinquishing his assignment as Ambassador to Bahrain, the first career diplomat in many years to Manama. It was in Bahrain that Ambassador Amin earned the fond title of the “People's Ambassador”.

There is no denying the fact that the concept of 'Failed State' has meanwhile drawn attention of all as one of the burning issues of the day and the matter has been fueled, fomented and intensified more acutely after the publication of the book 'Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy' written by the most authoritative American left intellectual Professor Noam Chomsky. In this book, he assertively branded America also as a foremost failed state from the point of view of the immediate past events and, in particular, the recent activities of the Bush administration and American domestic and foreign policy.

StarTech

Technology has become an integral part of our life. But people, by nature, tend to not stick to a particular technology for long. They are always looking for new age technologies that truly meet their hi-tech needs. This article mainly highlights some technologies that will dominate the year and at the same time points to some issues that local ICT industry needs to resolve in 2008.

Citing disagreements with the organisation, Intel Corp. said Thursday it has abandoned the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) programme, dealing a big blow to the ambitious project seeking to bring millions of low-cost laptops to children in developing countries.

Huawei Technologies (Bangladesh) Limited has donated some network equipments and offered its technical assistance to BUET (Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology) for the development of its data communication network lab and upgrade existing backbone network system. Huawei recognised this initiative as a part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Literature

I was running late. I was due for an afternoon tea with Veena Sikri, the ex-Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh at the India International Center, after which I was to meet Khushwant Singh at his house. Who, as is well known throughout India, is notoriously finicky about guests arriving and leaving on time. Ajeet Caur, the head of SAARC's cultural and literary wing, had set up the meet with an accompanying reminder: “It was difficult.You go to his house at 7:00, and you leave promptly at 7:30.” Fine with me, I had thought, since I just wanted to see him up close, not badger him with some set of questions.

Strategic Issues

The most important delivery point of services and development activities is the district administration. If one goes to a district headquarters one has the feeling that we are still at the mercy of the East India Company officials. One government in Dhaka is too far, remote, and unreachable to most of the people. Only a directly elected District Council will inject a sense of belonging and accountability to the people. The immediate need is to rationalize and democratize the layers of civil administration to open the window of services to the people. They want an elected and accountable administration at the district level for the vitally important services that has been choked by hardnosed bureaucracy. If the District Chairman is like city fathers, helpless even to the mosquitoes, purpose will not be served. The District Council should have authority over the service agencies, revenue right and subservient bureaucracy. One must also expect a serious vilification campaign by the vested quarters against the elected District Council, if there is one, the way upajilla council was tarnished immediately after their first election to office.

Nothing has changed since Annapolis. No Israeli actions have occurred in the field to change the relation with the Palestinians. The air bombardment in Gaza continues, and at least 32 Palestinians have been killed since Annapolis. Lupinsky, the Mayor of Jerusalem, justified the construction of 390 housing units in Abu Gneim, so called Har Homa in the area by saying that this will solve the demographic problems of the Jewish population of Jerusalem.

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda played a friendly game of catch during his visit to China on Saturday, a symbol of warming ties between the North Asian rivals despite a row over gas resources in disputed waters.

Star Books Review

Shamsuddin Abul Kalam died lonely and forlorn in Rome on a January day ten years ago. As this very appreciable compilation of his letters demonstrates amply, there was in him, ever since he left what once was East Pakistan and took up residence in the West, a defining degree of nostalgia that often comes to men who think. And Kalam was a thinking man, steeped as he was in literature and the making of it. The problem, as he saw it and not without reason, was the big hurdle that was always there when it came to an appreciation of his literary talents back home in Bangladesh. And the hurdle was geography. As the war for Bangladesh's liberation went on in 1971, Kalam was enthused by the prospect of freedom for a country he did not quite plan on going back to. He kept in touch with Justice Abu Sayeed Chowdhury and with others he knew were directly involved in the cause. Once Bangladesh became a de jure state, Kalam travelled to the new country, met its important men, including Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and came away with the belief that the future appeared bright despite the travails that yet dotted the path.

Love, the eternal two-faced dream, never stops mesmerizing us. Writers all over the world end up contributing to the ever-increasing definition of love at some point in their writing careers because they find almost every quality of life in love. The kingdom of love is so vast that it reigns over every other human emotion and this, needless to say, heaps on love a dual nature on top of its universality. If love is like a soothing ointment from a beautiful maiden, it is also the sword of an angry lover. If love is the reason behind the magnificent Taj Mahal, it is also the reason behind a burning Troy. If love made Lochinvar valiant, it made Romeo take his own life. In fact, at times it seems that literally everything springs from love the love of money or the love of power or the love of a person or the love of God. While you may categorize the contradictory faces of love by good and evil you can't refuse to acknowledge its mysterious duality which is like a surreal sight.

The Winter of Our Discontent is a richly imagined novel by John Steinbeck. Right from its first chapter, this book plunges the reader into the borderlands between opposing forces; between youth and age, exclusion and privileges. It is a blending into the classical and the familiar, the opalescent and the pure and takes off soaring high into the subsequent chapters. The story is about a New Englander named Ethan Allen Hawley who works as a clerk in a grocery store that he once owned. But fate has turned the hands and the ownership of the store has changed and is now owned by an Italian immigrant named Marullo. Ethan's family, the Hawleys, were sea captains and were respected for their place. Ethan himself had been in the army. But fate, playing its strange games, brought misfortune and the family lost everything. Ethan was left with the drudgery of minding the store.

Madhubala, aged thirty six, died in February 1969. She had finally succumbed to the pains associated with the lifelong hole in her heart. And then there were all the other pains she went through life in the course of a career that was to etch forever her name on Indian cinema. All these decades after her death, Madhubala remains an icon. Proof of that is to be found in the excitement with which today's generation has responded to the new, all colour version of the Dilip Kumar-Madhubala starrer Mughal-e-Azam. It was the movie that raised the pair to prodigious heights of popularity. There are those who suggest that it was also a point when their real life romance was on the wane. Remember the moment when Dilip caresses Madhubala's cheek with a feather, causing visible sensual thrills in her?

CasanovaThe Man Who Really Loved WomenLydia FlemFarrar Straus GirouxAn interesting work on a man with what has long been looked upon as a sordid reputation. But Flem does a good job of projecting the intellectual aspects of Casanova's character. Despite the fact that he enjoyed passionate love with 132 women, he still had time for poetry. It is a Casanova you cannot but respect. He gives you tips on love too.